


my own baby brother

by fannishcodex



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Age Swap, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Decisions, Childhood Trauma, Comfort/Angst, Dark, Deception, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fridge Horror, Gen, Heavy Angst, Human Experimentation, Isolation, Kinda, Moral Ambiguity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Trauma, Role Reversal, Role Swap, Role Swap AU, Siblings, Slow To Update, Trauma, Unethical Experimentation, kinda age swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannishcodex/pseuds/fannishcodex
Summary: Role Swap AU. Project Kipo came first with proper burrow approval until it was effectively abandoned, Hugo is the youngest, Song has long been out of the picture after a disastrous field test long ago, and Lio is very tired.
Relationships: Kipo Oak & Lio Oak, Kipo Oak & Scarlemagne | Hugo, Kipo Oak & Song Oak, Lio Oak/Song Oak
Comments: 21
Kudos: 126





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already headcanon Song and Lio as a little more morally ambiguous, especially when they were younger, so they're definitely starting off as such here.

Excavation trips were an involved and difficult affair, and so they were sporadically done. The last one was praised for returning with more preserved samples of animal DNA from the Old World—red fox, ring-tailed lemur, grizzly bear, river otter. Scientists before the disaster had tried to preserve what back-ups of the original animals they could, but such samples had been scattered all over the globe during the ensuing calamity, or had never been entirely gathered together before disaster struck. Finding them was a slow work-in-progress.

The results of the latest excavation filled in some gaps, but there were still holes in the burrow’s personal archive. Who knows what other burrows found—who knows which burrows continued to even look, or remembered to look, or even were part of the original treaty to archive the Old World animals. Their own burrow still lacked DNA for several animal species, like cheetahs, cockatiels, mandrills, emperor scorpions, gharials...there were just a lot of gaps.

Still, they now had new material to clone subjects for the mutagen trials, a project that had lasted for years, and was practically an institution and tradition of their burrow now. Dr. Song Oak was swept up in the same excitement that often accompanied the discovery of new test subjects, hoping like everyone else that these new DNA samples would mean a successfully isolated mutagen.

When the trials for the new subjects came up empty too, Song made up her mind and prepared a proposal with her husband.

“This is unacceptable,” Dr. Emilia said after Song had ended her presentation in front of the burrow council, the board of science and its Director. “You would have us contaminate our DNA—?”

“I said it was about improving ourselves to survive on the surface,” Song repeated herself, voice calm. “Mutation seems to have favored the rest of the world’s creatures.”

Song dared to lock eyes with the Director again. “Our experiments to regress the mutes continue to find no viable results,” Song repeated herself again. “I’m not saying we should completely give up on that, but we should try exploring other options too. While we try to regress mutes, we should try to advance humans too.”

The Director tented his fingers, cold eyes glancing between Emilia and Song. Finally he nodded to Song.

“Proceed with your research, Dr. Oak. Keep us updated on your project. Trials will not start until I give approval.” Then he turned to the other woman, whose eyes were now narrowed. “Dr. Emilia, continue as planned with the mutagen trials.”

* * *

Staring at the ceiling of their bedroom, Song finally spoke aloud an idea she had been mulling over after months of research into the human advancement project.

“Genetic improvement should start at conception. Not after the fact,” she whispered. “For now, I mean. If I propose that to the team...I should volunteer. I can’t expect someone else to do it first.”

Lio took a deep breath. And then they argued, a little.

“It’s for the future of everyone,” Song said, grasping his hands. Lio sighed, burying his face in her hair. Finally, he murmured agreement.

* * *

The Director showed little hesitation in approving Song’s proposal for human trials at conception, with her progeny as the subject. (Song tried not to think too hard about that, how she expected it, was both slightly unsettled and encouraged by it; she had known the Director would understand, her old teacher was brilliant, her old teacher had an eye for the future too, he knew what needed to be done.)

“You would do this to your own baby?” Emilia hissed at Song, cornering her after she learned the news.

“My baby will be the future,” Song said, demeanor calm and unruffled as she moved around Emilia and continued on her way, without even a glance back.

* * *

When Song and Lio decided on a name for the baby, the experiment gained another name to match her: Project Kipo.

* * *

Emilia was predictably repulsed when Song grew brown fur on her arm. Several team members of the human advancement project seemed unsettled by the whole thing, as if the reality of what they were doing finally clicked and left them with a certain level of disquiet. Even Song could tell Lio was a little alarmed by this development at first, but Song was aware of his general anxiety. He seemed to calm when they both talked it through and theorized that it was a side effect of the pregnancy, and later tests confirmed this.

They also confirmed that out of the mega mute genetic material used for Project Kipo, Song was being mutated by the monkey genes, which led to new theories that the baby would be born with that too, not komodo dragon, jaguar, or falcon. Additional tests noted that Song seemed to have increased strength too, confirming another hypothesis about the project. That was now continually monitored, and Song performed exercises to control her new power.

More of her blood was drawn. Song and Lio approved every new test done on her; after all, they had drafted much of them after she started to show signs of mutation.

For Song, it was all just a new development to note down, monitor, and run by the board of science and its Director, who was pleased by the news. He started to visit more, always expressing curiosity and interest under his veneer of composure. (In contrast, the mutagen trials received less visits from the Director.)

Part of why Song had felt testing at conception first was the best way to go was due to trouble figuring out how to successfully incorporate mute DNA into adult humans. The exact calculations and trial sims had kept going nowhere. She had set that idea aside and thought it would be better to start with conceiving someone already mutated, rather than introduce mutation to them. With that established, they could possibly better figure out how to upgrade humans that weren’t born mutated.

But now it had been demonstrated that mutated DNA could be passed from child to mother during pregnancy. Useful to know, and the Director suggested that down the line they would have to test this with the pregnancies of other women to draw comparisons. They would determine how often this phenomena could happen.

* * *

When Kipo was born, the team dutifully noted down that contrary to some theories, mega mute jaguar DNA appeared to dominate, rather than the mother’s mega mute monkey traits.

Meanwhile, Song and Lio were completely entranced with their baby, holding her and cooing over her and singing to her. Well, Lio sang. Despite her name, Song had no talent for music or interest in practicing it. She was just a casual listener, and only quietly but happily hummed along to Lio’s lullaby for their daughter.

Though the Director suggested tests be done with Kipo soon, none were performed without Song and Lio’s approval. They planned to take them slow with their child.

* * *

Tests continued on Song first before they would start with Kipo. Though earlier experiments had suggested the change to Song was permanent, some team members had wondered if the mute traits would fade after she gave birth.

They did not, and in fact Song was able to push testing on herself further as she recovered from pregnancy and got back into shape. She recovered quickly, and further tests suggested this was due to her mutation.

It was also confirmed that the changes were permanent, with no way to reverse them in sight. Many deemed it impossible. For Song, this was ideal. This was what she had been working toward.

* * *

Weeks after Kipo’s birth, the Director still pushed for immediate testing on her. Song and Lio resisted.

Finally Song proposed a compromise, volunteering herself for a field test on the surface. Lio protested this too, but she reassured him that he had nothing to worry about. Kissing her husband and daughter good-bye, Song left in good spirits with the field test team and the Director, who was coming along to observe.

When the surviving members stumbled back to the burrow hours later, Song wasn’t among them.

Lio tried to listen even as static started to fill his ears—mutes had attacked, they explained in a rush. Song had tried to defend them. She couldn’t control the transformation. It went too fast, she grew too big—a mega mute monkey with too many limbs and blazing red eyes, towering over them all.

Song hadn’t directly attacked anyone, but there had been...accidents. She knocked down an abandoned building that had crushed some of the team, including the Director. She had stepped on others, with her eyes fixed on the horizon and showing no awareness of what she had done.

The only mute that had killed their people had been Song. 

While the survivors barely escaped, Song fled deeper into the ruined city, and then the woods.

Lio’s calls for a search party to look for his wife and try to reach her mind were ignored, and then completely forbidden.

* * *

As soon as Emilia was sworn in as the new director, she seized control of Project Kipo. Lio’s rights as Kipo’s parent were utterly overridden. She didn’t open with the unthinkable, though Lio knew she wanted to. Lio was certain she would have pushed for it if she had more support for her deepest wish, but Lio knew the team members formerly under his and Song's leadership wouldn’t go that far. Even most on the board of science and the burrow council would not condone such extreme action.

But that was the extent of their support. They were thoroughly frightened by what happened. They were also angry; the desire for punishment was heavy in the air. Those who had lost loved ones to Song grieved and raged. No one disputed Emilia’s other harsher decisions, or defended Lio’s parental rights, or showed any concern for Kipo herself.

Some suggested trying to reverse the infant’s mutation, but those were weak protests; less out of fear, and more out of knowing the impossibility of such a task. The mutation had always been meant to be permanent. Blood tests on Song and now Kipo had confirmed its permanent status so far. (Their genetic manipulations had not been foolproof or without serious consequences.)

Kipo was now indefinitely confined to the labs. Lio was no longer allowed to take her out, not even to their apartment. Lio had been reduced to limited visits with his own daughter. Any thought of keeping her in contact with the rest of the burrow was shut down, fear and anger running rampant with Emilia capitalizing on it all.

* * *

Lio tried to flee with Kipo, once.

When Emilia and her assistants caught them, they sat down and talked. In a fashion.

“I can have you two completely separated,” Emilia said, emotionless and cold as she watched Lio sitting across from her, glaring at her through a black eye, face cut and bruised. “Do you want that?”

The father gave a hysterical laugh. “Like you care what I want.”

Emilia’s eyes narrowed, calculating. “You care about your little lab project. You couldn’t bear to leave her completely alone.” Her voice grew deathly soft. “Continue down this path, and you will never see her again. Is that what you want?”

Lio’s jaw clenched, and Emilia remained unwavering. “If you don’t compromise, you will get nothing.”

The questions collected on his lips: Why was Emilia giving him this chance? Did she still value him that much as a scientist and someone to pacify Kipo? Did that outweigh the “security risk” he posed? Did she intend to use him as a hostage against Kipo down the line? Was she just playing mind games? Contrary to what most believed, Lio knew Emilia wasn’t completely devoid of humor and joy—her pleasure was just twisted and quiet with sporadic bursts.

But this was the only question that mattered: What choice did he have?

Lio was compromised. (But that had already happened before Kipo was born.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of thoughts about how Song and Lio experimented on Kipo, and how it's actually messed up, and Kipo should be allowed to freak out about it later; and I feel like the show implies that it does acknowledge that it's messed up with Wolf and Benson quietly looking freaked out though they try to support Kipo's optimism, and I feel like the show is building up to Kipo freaking out over what her parents did to her; and wow, Lio and Song seem to have really lucked out with Kipo though so far...and just thinking what if it didn't work out so well? And what if they had tried going through the proper channels at their burrow for Project Kipo instead of in secrecy? And just what if Project Kipo predated the mutagen trial with Hugo? Twitter/reddit posts by show creator Radford Sechrist and co-showrunner Bill Wolkoff say that Hugo/Scarlemagne was cloned from samples of non-mutated mandrills from the “Old World.” (And I love it.) I imagined more details for that, the mutagen trials, the Oaks' original burrow (the DNA Burrow), etc. here in this fic, and I imagined Hugo’s cloned later for my Role Swap AU. Also taking a lot of liberties with science, but this is a show with talking frogs.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments and kudos! Hope you enjoy the next part.

_13 years later_

“Y’know Hugo, when you’re older, you’re gonna have blue and red all over your face,” Kipo said, eyes closed while the mandrill child stretched up and carefully brushed her nose and cheeks with paint. “Just like me!” She added with a laugh, and Hugo giggled.

“You’re silly, Kipo,” Hugo said, voice bright and high, and still bubbling with laughter.

“No no, I’m being serious,” she replied, exaggerated in her lack of humor now. “I can show you my serious face if you’re done. Are you done?”

“Let me see,” Hugo said, leaning back and focusing even more closely on his big sister’s face. He had dutifully followed her request for a stripe of red down her nose and blue on her cheeks.

The mandrill child bit his lip, also considering how the paint looked with the rest of her. Should he add more blue or red or both to go even better with the short and pretty pale pink hair hanging over her shoulders, the curving red mark on her jumpsuit, or the silver-gray blocky necklace she always wore?

Then he turned to their father. “Lio, what do you think?”

Putting his folder of files down, Lio stroked his beard, contemplative. “Maybe a touch more blue.”

Hugo nodded eagerly. “Thanks!” And then he returned to the face painting kit Kipo had revealed with a flourish earlier. He added more blue to the brush, then applied it to Kipo.

The mandrill child leaned back for one final check. He glanced to Lio, who gave an approving nod.

“Okay, I’m done,” Hugo said, putting the brush down, and Kipo opened her eyes.

“Like I was saying, I’m being serious,” and Kipo furrowed her brow and frowned and lowered her voice so deeply, it made Hugo giggle.

“No, you’re being silly, like a jester!” When Hugo caught his father’s eye, he realized that he must’ve raised his voice beyond what was allowed.

“Hugo, remember, not too loud,” Lio said softly, but still with a little sternness in it. “We can’t let anyone else know you can talk.”

That fully deflated the child’s mood. Hugging himself, Hugo looked down with a frown, feeling sad and...and other awful things that made his stomach twist over and over.

“Here, it’s your turn,” Kipo said gently, picking up the makeup brush. “I’ll give you a little preview of when you’re older.”

Though he was still upset, Hugo didn’t resist when Kipo started painting his face. But soon the brush felt ticklish against the ridges of his snout. He smiled, fighting back giggles. He had to force back even more when Kipo stuck her tongue out and her eyes crossed in exaggerated concentration.

Eventually Kipo started humming a song, and Hugo closed his eyes, content to just listen. He recognized it as the first song she taught him on the piano, and she said it was one of her favorites, something she had seen in an Old World movie before.

“Okay, voila!” His sister eventually said with a flourish, and he opened his eyes to watch her preen. Then she snatched up the compact mirror that came with the face painting kit. “Check us out—”

Hugo had obviously already seen Kipo’s red nose and blue cheeks. But his face was new; red ran down the center of his snout, and blue was spread along the sides of it too.

The child wrinkled his snout, exaggerating its ridges. “I look weird.”

“It’ll look better when you’re older—see, remember—” Kipo grabbed the picture book on monkeys she had been studying while painting his face. She held it up to Hugo, pointing at his grown-up counterpart. “—you’ll look like that when you’re older.”

Hugo frowned, still skeptical. “It’s so different though.” The child shook his head. “Are you sure the book’s right? Some of them just make stuff up for fun. Like the book with the green eggs, Lio said they weren’t real—”

“Don’t worry, this book’s accurate about monkeys,” Kipo said, beaming. “Now there’s one that has monkeys with wings— _that_ one’s just making stuff up about them!”

Hugo’s frown remained. “But there are pictures of other animals...like squirrels in other books, and the grown-ups don’t look that different from the kids, they just look bigger.”

Kipo ruffled the fur on his head, and Hugo grinned, appreciative. “Mandrills are different. Like...oh, think of lions—they get that mane when they’re older, but look different as kids.”

“Oh yeah!” Hugo said, eyes widening. He hadn’t thought of that. Then he frowned. “But changing colors seems _really_ different....”

“You mean cool!” Kipo eagerly said, and gently tugged the mandrill child into her lap. He happily curled up closer to his sister, and she held the book in front of them. “See, mandrills are the most colorful primates, and they’re the largest of the monkeys—”

“But apes are bigger?” Hugo asked, remembering what Kipo told him about different groups of primates. His small fingers then brushed gently against the pictures of the mandrill monkeys. His stomach dipped a little, and he frowned. Hugo wished he could just see for himself, wished he could meet some of them...others like him....

The mandrill child then reached up to wrap his arms around Kipo’s shoulder, laying his head there, silently asking for more comfort. He started playing with her hair, and again looked curiously at her necklace. Kipo had told him it was a rare piece of jewelry, and no one was supposed to touch it.

If Kipo noticed something, she didn’t make any comment. She just nodded, patted his head on her shoulder while her smile widened, and she answered his question. “Uh huh, like orangutans and gorillas are bigger—”

“ _Hugo_ ,” Lio snapped in a low voice, and the mandrill child stopped poking Kipo’s necklace with strands of her hair. “You _know_ you’re not allowed to touch that.”

Immediately Hugo felt guilty, but it was a particular type of guilt that made him defensively say, “But I—I wasn’t really touching it—”

“No, you know what I meant,” his father sternly insisted, and Hugo flinched at his tone.

But the mandrill child felt worse when Kipo gently pulled him away with an apologetic smile, and readjusted him in her lap with his arms at his sides.

“It’s okay, buddy, it’s just—it’s really delicate jewelry,” Kipo said, ruffling the fur on his head. “Might be even too delicate for hair poking it like that.”

She said the last with a laugh, but Lio still looked stern, and Hugo’s stomach still felt like it had dropped to his feet.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and quickly gave her a hug, as if a little afraid she might push him away.

Kipo gently scoffed, a laugh still in her voice. She hugged him back. “Oh Hugo, don’t worry about it!” But her hands softly stroked the fur on the back of his head, and after a while she gave a soft sigh that puzzled Hugo a little. “You really are the sweetest....”

The mandrill child frowned. His sister sounded a little sad. He looked up at her. “Are you okay?”

“What, me?” She scoffed again, real loudly this time. “Never better!”

Hugo still wasn’t sure—but then Kipo’s hands suddenly scrambled over his belly, tickling him, and the mandrill child hooted with delight.

When his sister finally released him, Hugo plopped back in her lap, panting and grinning. But when he caught sight of Lio watching Kipo with concern, Hugo felt more subdued.

“I’m really sorry, Lio,” he said in a small voice.

Lio gave his own sigh, though that sounded more clearly tired. “It’s all right. But you have to listen to us, all right?”

Hugo nodded, feeling guilty again. Then Kipo swiftly lifted him up and spun him around, making him laugh once more.

“Come on Dad, forget paperwork and play a board game with us!” Kipo invited while she held Hugo upside down, making the mandrill child giggle even more because Lio looked funny from this angle.

“All right, all right,” Lio said with a sigh, though this one sounded much more exaggerated and his smile looked more fond, even when upside down.

With cards, little wooden figures, and a beautifully painted board, they played the game about growing a garden on the moon; it had been a while since they played that one. It had a nice lengthy campaign with multiple phases, and by the end of it Hugo begged to play it again, but Lio shook his head.

“Time to turn in for the night, buddy.”

The child’s heart sank. He hated this part, he hated when his sister and father had to go. Hugo clung to Kipo’s leg, and looked down at the floor.

“Come on, you two need to wash the face paint off before we go,” Lio said.

The mandrill child threw his snout up into the air, eyes closed. “No, I want to sleep like this.”

Lio’s voice turned a little firm. “Hugo.”

“No,” the mandrill child stubbornly insisted. Kipo snickered.

“Hugo, I’m not going to repeat myself again.”

“No, Kipo says I’m gonna look like this anyway—”

“When you’re older.”

“No—”

Footsteps approached, and Hugo felt his heart freeze and his voice shrivel up.

Kipo immediately picked him up and without missing a beat, she said, “No, Hugo and I aren’t washing this off, we’re gonna sleep like this tonight—”

Hugo hid his face in Kipo’s shoulder while Lio responded just as smoothly, “Absolutely not, you two are cleaning up before you go to bed.”

They were clearly trying to cover their bases and pretend Lio was only ever arguing with Kipo the whole time. If they were really lucky, none of their conversation had been overheard at all.

The door hissed open, and the mandrill child’s stomach squirmed at Emilia’s irritated sigh. “Kipo, what did you do to your face?”

“More enrichment!” His sister eagerly said, and she gently turned Hugo around to make him face Emilia. “I was showing Hugo pictures of grown mandrills, and then I asked Dad to paint my face like one, and then I painted Hugo’s face like one, and then we—”

Emilia held up a hand, the one with the metallic ring on it. Like Kipo and her necklace, she always had that ring. “All right, I get the picture.” Then her eyes flicked to Hugo, who started to nervously suck on his fingers. “Any progress?”

“Well, considering Hugo tried to lick the paint, I’m gonna give a hard ‘no,’” Kipo said with a roll of her eyes. The mandrill child quietly marveled at how well his big sister could lie to Emilia of all people.

Then Lio and Emilia shot each other their customary glare, and Emilia said, “Very well, keep me updated.” Then she left as quickly as she had arrived.

Even when they were sure she was gone, Hugo didn’t speak a word while Lio gently washed his face and Kipo rinsed off her own. He stayed silent as they hugged him and told him good night. Hugo’s only response was to hug both his sister and father tight. They then tucked him into bed, wrapping him in his favorite star blanket and nestling him among the pillows and other blankets on the floor. Kipo and Lio each pressed a kiss to his forehead before they finally left.

Curled up in his blankets, Hugo lied awake for a long time until he finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been thinking Lio in this AU would be a little more harsh at this point (after 13 years essentially imprisoned with his daughter and other terrible things going on in the DNA Burrow), though he'll still soften. Thanks for reading; as always, comments and kudos are super appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments and kudos! This chapter was longer before, but then I decided to split it in two (still working on the other half though). Part of this very much takes inspiration from “Family by Persistence” by editoress, part 1 of a Kipo fic series everyone should read! And thanks to editoress and lemonadesoda for listening to my brainstorming for this AU. Also ignoring season 3 and working on fix-it fic.

Hugo never really slept too deeply. For as long as he remembered, people would eventually come to take him away for needles. No, Lio had explained they were blood samples, that’s what the needles were for. They pulled the blood out.

The mandrill child hadn’t noticed a pattern, humans just seemed to come and get him whenever, so he slept pretty lightly. 

Like tonight. No one came yesterday, but they had come the night before, and they were here again tonight.

So when rough hands pulled him up, Hugo woke up pretty quickly. He nervously sucked on his hand, and anxious sweat started to bead in his fur. He wrapped his remaining hand around his sinking stomach. The mandrill child never liked this, but there was nothing to be done. It was routine. Normal.

He didn’t know all the names of the humans, but he knew the one that grabbed him—Greta, tall and frightening and often with Emilia. Hugo hoped Emilia wouldn’t be here tonight. Sometimes she was here to watch the blood taken from him; or worse, she was the one to take it.

Greta carried Hugo out of his room and to the usual colder-looking lab room, where—

Hugo’s eyes widened and he reminded himself to keep quiet when he saw Kipo sitting on a bench, looking bored. What was his sister doing here?

Zane, who also frightened Hugo and also often accompanied Emilia, was by Kipo’s side. His back was turned to her, and Hugo noticed that he was bent over some papers and an array of tools that made his stomach squirm. When he saw Emilia farther to the side flipping through a notebook, ice seeped into the mandrill child’s gut.

When Kipo turned her head and caught his eye, she stilled with only the barest ripple of surprise running across her face. She seemed to be trying very hard to look unaffected. Hugo finally noticed that his sister also looked a little tired. Had Kipo just been pulled out of bed like him?

Then she looked away, blew out a theatrical sigh, and bemoaned to Zane, “Does Hugo have to be here too?” She sounded annoyed.

It was silly, because Hugo could tell she was only pretending, but something in his stomach clenched painfully at that. _She doesn’t mean it_ , he repeated to himself. Hugo knew she only didn’t want him dragged out for needles.

Still, he was confused why she was even here. He could at least tell his sister wasn’t here willingly, and that Emilia and her assistants must have asked for her. But what could they want with Kipo now? 

“We’re saving time,” Zane grumbled. Then he sneered. “Besides, thought you liked hanging around your little pet?”

Kipo just rolled her eyes. Then she softened when she glanced back at Hugo, and the mandrill child relaxed a little. He knew she was only pretending. “Greta, I can hold him while you do this. It’ll be easier, and faster.”

“Sure, why not?”

“Greta!” Zane snapped.

“I’ve held Hugo before when Dad gives him the formula,” Kipo cut in smoothly. “And sometimes when Dad takes his blood too.”

This was true, and even when it was only Lio drawing blood with Kipo holding him, Hugo still hated it. Then again, he had hated being made to drink the formula too; at least that was over, though Lio and Kipo said they still pretended they continued to give him formula so Emilia and the others wouldn’t get suspicious.

“Go ahead, Greta,” Emilia said without looking up from the notebook, and that settled the matter.

Without another word, Greta held Hugo out before Kipo. Not for the first time, the mandrill child felt like one of his stuffed toys passed about. But he liked being held by his big sister, even if he was about to get stuck with a needle.

More gentle than Greta, Kipo took him and cradled him close. Hugo gratefully nuzzled her face. He wished he could talk to her now.

When Zane drew closer with the needle, Hugo stared at its sharp point. It always terrified him, and he hated when it pierced through his body. He buried his face in Kipo’s shoulder and hugged his chest, trying to hide his arms. Hugo trembled, and again wished that he wasn’t here. He knew he was being foolish for trying to resist like this, it was gonna happen either way; but his stupid body still just reacted, and it was hard to get under control.

Zane hissed in a low voice. “Oh come on—!”

Hugo buried his face deeper in Kipo’s shoulder as Zane snarled.

“Shut up, Zane,” Kipo hissed back in an even lower voice. Then in a far gentler tone, she said, “Hugo, come on, it’s okay. It won’t take long.” 

Though Kipo tenderly took his arm, he still resisted her efforts to make him uncurl. He always did this even with his sister, and it was so stupid of him; Kipo was only here to make things simpler.

But as always, his sister remained firm. Her grip never hurt like Zane’s or Greta’s or Emilia’s, but it was very strong and Hugo was helpless. She turned him around and unfolded his arm, pulling it and stretching it forward. Still her hold didn’t hurt; it was so strong it allowed no resistance that could’ve ended up backfiring on Hugo. And, well, it was his sister; even if he didn’t want to do this, he couldn’t ever really fight back against her, and he knew she was only trying to make things easier for him. He shouldn’t have even tried to resist her in the first place, this was better than Zane’s or Emilia’s or Greta’s or anyone else’s restraint, but it...he was still scared.

Continuing her own routine for stuff like this, Kipo quietly and gently covered his eyes so he wouldn’t have to stare at the sharpness of the needle or Zane or anything else. It only helped a little; he was still frightened. Hugo had tried avoiding the sight of the needle before, squeezing his eyes shut while it dug in, but it never really helped. He could still feel it, and that was the worst part. Closing his eyes could never fool him into thinking that it wasn’t coming. His mind couldn’t stop picturing the needle. So Kipo’s hand blocking his view wasn’t much better. But...but it did help that she was here with him, it helped a little.

His sister started to quietly sing, she did that too when Lio had to take his blood while Kipo held him. Hugo tried to focus on that, but the expectation of the needle still loomed large in his mind. No matter how sweet, her song couldn’t drown it out.

“What are you doing?” Zane’s annoyed question didn’t help either. It was so weird; Kipo had only ever held him for a blood sample when it was Lio with the needle. This was the first time she held him for anyone else, and with humans Hugo deeply feared.

“I’m trying to keep him calm and distract him, just hurry up and do it already,” Kipo snapped, then quickly resumed her slow melody. Hugo’s heart pounded faster. He tried to make Kipo’s efforts pay off, but he was still frightened.

“Okay, you need to stop giving me ord—”

“Zane, just take the damn sample already,” Emilia ordered, and Hugo flinched at her voice.

Then the mandrill child whimpered when he felt the horribly familiar metal dig into his skin after Zane had hastily wiped his arm with a damp cloth. Instinctively he tried to flee, but Kipo’s grip on him remained firm and she continued to sing. Even her hand stayed over his eyes.

She stopped singing to say, “There, it’s—”

Hugo cried out as the needle left, because it felt like it had been ripped free. 

“—it’s done, it’s done, it’s okay Hugo—”

Kipo’s hand fell away from his eyes and she let go of his arm. She hugged him tight around his tummy, and though Hugo sank deeper into her embrace, he still shivered and whimpered. He wanted to be back in bed with his star blanket, and he wanted his sister to stay with him for the night. She never could, lab protocol wouldn’t let it happen; but Hugo really wished she’d be allowed.

Zane roughly and impatiently cleaned up his arm, and wrapped the bandage around it too tight. Hugo’s jaw clenched at the pain and the pressure, and Kipo glared up at the grown-up.

“What the hell, what kind of technique is that—?!”

“The kind that gets the sample,” Zane grumbled. “Not any different from what we do with you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not a baby like Hugo!” Kipo snarled. “You should take it easier with him—”

“Kipo, that’s enough,” Emilia cut in again, and once more Hugo flinched. Though he was a complete bundle of nerves and fear and pain, the mandrill child admired his sister for only shooting Emilia a petulant look. Kipo was so brave and clever.

While shifting him around so that she held him with one arm, Kipo pulled up the sleeve of her free arm. She then stretched out her bare arm, and Hugo watched, confused. For a moment, his confusion distracted him from how afraid and hurt he felt.

He glanced at his sister’s face. With a painful twist in his chest, he better appreciated how tired she looked. She wasn’t just a little tired. Her eyes were dull and flat. And she still seemed bored, but like— _really_ bored. He hadn’t understood how bored she appeared before now. Bored and...resigned? Hugo had trouble wrapping his head around it, because it wasn’t just...there was something else in his sister’s face that deeply worried him, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Something hard and sharp, but stretched thin at the same time. He had never seen her like this before.

Again wishing he could freely talk, Hugo just wrapped his arms around Kipo’s waist and hugged her tight, hoping that could help her with whatever was happening. He found it helped when Kipo and Lio gave him hugs.

His sister’s eyes widened, and she glanced down at him, a spark of curiosity briefly brightening them. Then her gaze dulled again and her eyes shot back up, and Hugo followed her line of sight.

Zane was approaching with another needle.

Hugo whimpered again and hid his face in Kipo’s side. He didn’t want any more needles, he didn’t want any more of his blood taken. Or were they giving him a shot of something? He didn’t like when that happened either. 

“Shhh, don’t worry, it’s not for you,” Kipo whispered to him while she softly ran a hand through the fur on the top of his head.

The mandrill child stiffened at that, and dared to look up. How could it not be for him? Who else could it be for? He had been the only one to ever get needles.

Baffled, Hugo snuck a peek at Zane. The grown-up came closer, roughly took Kipo’s bare arm with her sleeve rolled up, wiped it down with a damp cloth—Hugo’s eyes widened as Zane aimed the needle for his sister’s skin—

Feeling a new kind of fear and a blinding sort of anger he couldn’t remember ever having before, Hugo acted without thinking, and lunged forward. He sank his fangs into Zane’s arm.

They were small, but still sharp. Sharp enough to break skin, and Hugo felt nausea burst in his stomach as he tasted something wet and metallic.

The grown-up shouted and cursed, and Hugo felt his sister’s arms immediately pull him back and her whole body curl over him protectively. Alarm flooded him when Kipo recoiled back just as he heard the familiar sound of flesh hitting flesh. He knew the sound from when Zane hit him sometimes when he got cross.

But Zane hadn’t hit him this time.

Seeing a trembling red, Hugo shrieked and scrambled to claw at Zane, he struggled to bite him again—

“Zane, back off and get a med kit,” Emilia said with a cool, unaffected voice. “Kipo, give the animal to me.”

“I can get him under control—Hugo, come on, it’s okay—” Kipo curled tighter around the furious mandrill child, trying to calm and quiet him.

“Kipo,” Emilia repeated, voice growing even colder.

Hugo tried to listen to his sister. His shrieking faded into angry growling. Glancing up at Kipo, Hugo spied a bruise starting to form around the edge of her hairline. Feeling his anger evaporate, the mandrill child gave a mournful hoot and reached up, trying to soothe her wound. He desperately wished Lio was here.

“Kipo, give—”

“But it’s okay, see, Hugo’s calmed down—”

“Kipo Oak, do not make me repeat myself,” Emilia said.

Hugo felt helpless watching his sister deflate even further. She quickly nuzzled the top of his head, and before he could nuzzle her in return, Kipo uncurled around him and stiffly offered him to Emilia.

Without feeling, Emilia quickly took him and cradled him against her shoulder, so that he now faced away from his sister. Hugo went very still, heart pounding and hoping Emilia couldn’t hear it.

“Greta, take over,” Emilia ordered, and the mandrill child trembled at how close her voice was now. But what she had told Greta to do—

Hugo looked back, and saw Greta approach Kipo with a new needle.

Instinctively he bared his fangs and tried to defend his sister again, twisting around and trying to launch himself at Greta. But Emilia gripped the back of his neck tightly, making him flinch and cry out.

Greta had paused, looking curiously back at Hugo. Something about that frustrated him even more. Why should Greta look surprised that he’d try to protect Kipo? Perhaps even Greta thought he was being foolish, maybe she thought he should’ve known that his efforts were useless because he was weak and helpless—but that didn’t matter, he had to try, he had to do something—

“Hugo, it’s okay, it’ll be over soon,” Kipo said, shooting him a tired look.

Feeling even more determined, the mandrill child struggled again. He cried out once more when, quicker than he could comprehend, Emilia now had his arms twisted behind his back and enclosed within her iron grip.

“Emilia, how about you just put Hugo back to bed already?” Kipo tried, and Hugo felt so guilty and useless. “You already took a sample from him, he doesn’t have to be here for—”

“Kipo,” Emilia said, and his sister snapped her mouth shut and glared at the floor.

As Emilia’s grip started to really hurt, Hugo began to whimper. Unsurprisingly, she ignored him and told Greta to focus on getting the sample.

Useless and weak and whimpering, Hugo couldn’t do anything for his sister except watch Greta stick her with the needle. The second it pierced her, he flinched back and his eyes had watered. He blinked rapidly to try to get the tears to go away before anyone noticed.

At least it didn’t seem to actually bother Kipo; she remained looking bored and tired, but didn’t look hurt. Hugo had always known she was strong, but he still didn’t want needles in his sister.

Just as Kipo said, it was quickly done. Greta roughly cleaned and bandaged his sister’s arm. Then Kipo quickly pulled the sleeve of her jumpsuit back down.

“May I please take Hugo back to his room now?” Kipo’s words were more deliberate, controlled and polite, though a little curt. She looked at Emilia, who was already releasing her hold on the mandrill child. Hugo was reaching out for his sister, hooting plaintively.

“Very well,” Emilia said, and ordered Greta to escort Kipo and Hugo, then take Kipo back to her own room.

Hugo hugged Kipo tight, and Kipo hugged him just as tightly as she carried him back to his room. Just as she had done hours ago, she tucked him into bed and pressed a kiss against his forehead, then left with Greta.

It took a very long time for Hugo to fall back asleep. When he did, it was punctuated by bad dreams that made him twist and turn, curl up in his star blanket, and break into a cold sweat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, comments and kudo are always appreciated!


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